The CDSCO has requested that, WHO submit all data necessary to establish a link between the recalled cough syrups and the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.

Officials claimed that a probe has been opened by India’s drug authority in response to the WHO alert warning that cough syrups made by an Indian company may have contributed to the deaths of children in Gambia. WHO issued a warning on Wednesday claiming that up to 66 children’s fatalities in the West African country may have been caused by four cough syrups that were purportedly manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, a company situated in Sonipat, Haryana.

The officials claimed that the United Nations Health Agency had not given the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) the precise “one-to-one causal relation of death” nor had it shared with it information about labels and products that would have allowed it to identify or locate the manufacturer of the products. “Using the evidence in hand, the CDSCO has already contacted the Haryana regulatory authorities to initiate an urgent investigation. While all necessary procedures will be done, WHO has been requested to communicate with CDSCO as soon as possible the report on the establishment of a causal relationship to the fatalities with the issue of medical items, images of labels/products, etc “they claimed.

WHO reportedly told the Drugs Controller General of India on September 29 that it was advising and offering technical help to The Gambia. The use of medications that may have been tainted with Diethylene Glycol/Ethylene Glycol was emphasised as a significant contributing cause to the deaths, and it was noted that its presence had been confirmed in some of the samples it studied.